Back end of defense makes Tigers squad possible all-timer
Sep. 22—Something Jim Roth said before the season really stuck out because the statement came from a man who's not one for hyperbole.
Roth, who could have 500 wins by the end of the season — said the 2023 Southern Columbia defense could compare favorably to its 2019 squad. You know, the one with three Division I linebackers and Julian Fleming — the nation's top recruit by some services — in the defensive backfield. The one that didn't allow a point until the sixth week of the season and had 10 shutouts on its way to a 16-0 state title season.
That 2019 defense?
Now, the Tigers haven't quite reached those levels yet — they have allowed 20 points through four games — but it wasn't hard to see why defensive coordinator Andy Mills was so excited about what he could do with his front eight.
"We have four guys that can run up front. We don't have to blitz as much," Mills said. "We don't have to rely on our linebackers to get pressure."
It was hard to believe that one of the biggest reasons — though injuries played a big factor — in the Tigers rough (for them) 2022 regular season, was its defensive struggles.
"We struggled more than we have in quite a number of years on that side of the ball in the regular season last year, but we lost our best player (Garrett Garcia) on the opening kickoff," Roth said. "We were inexperienced."
Garcia has returned to roll up 25 games in four games — Dom Fetteroff leads the team with 27 —
With eight starters back from a unit that made massive strides in the postseason, Roth knew in the back of his mind, that one thing might stand in the way of the Tigers reaching their peak as a defensive unit: The secondary.
Sure Jake Hoy led the team in interceptions, and Louden Murphy played a lot of safety last season, but Braeden Wisloski graduated, and Kyle Christman didn't play much last season because of a hamstring injury.
Four weeks into the season, and those concerns turned out to be unfounded. Southern Columbia's secondary has been a key component in the defense's outstanding season. Seven players have intercepted passes in over the first four games.
"One of our biggest problems was last season was giving up the big play," Roth said. "And that's been a point of emphasis since even more practice started, even back in June at team camp at Lebanon Valley. We don't want to let people get behind us."
Two big reasons for the Tigers' big improvements in its secondary are the health of Christman and the emergence of Hoy. Christman, a sprinter for the track team, has added nearly 20 pounds since his sophomore year and hasn't lost much speed with that growth.
"Kyle never really got into a good flow (last season) on either side of the ball," Roth said. "He was never 100 percent healthy."
Though Hoy had a team-high six interceptions last year, the 6-foot-2 senior has taken a leap this season. Roth said he's making plays on both sides of the ball — his David Tyree-like pin of ball against his helmet for a catch along the sideline against Loyalsock is enough proof of that.
"Jake Hoy has improved every year, but he's taken a big step up from a season ago," Roth said. "He's just done some things on the football field (this year) that he had been able to do before. His ball skills — on both offense and defense — have been much different and better this season."
A perfect example came two Friday nights ago when the Tigers traveled to Loyalsock to play a Lancers' team that dealt its first regular-season loss to a District 4 team in 10 seasons.
The Southern Columbia secondary limited Jaylen Andrews, who had more than 20 touchdown grabs last season, to just three catches and no touchdowns in a win two weeks ago.
Through four weeks, the Tigers are plus-10 in turnover margin and have allowed just 26 first downs.
